


Tomorrow - on hiatus

by seveillon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College Student Eren Yeager, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Martial Arts, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-29
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-15 05:42:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2217900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seveillon/pseuds/seveillon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren, Mikasa, and their friends are attending Mitras University. Eren is struggling in chemistry, and training at the world level in martial arts. Levi is a world champion master who moves to town and begins training at his studio. What does this mean for Eren's training? And will he ever be able to pass chemistry, or flunk out?</p><p>** To be frank I've lost interest in this topic. I'll keep it up, and maybe come back to it, but as of right now, don't expect an update. Chapter 4 has been sitting at 1,000 words for too long, and the Mikasa/Armin aside is still barely half done and just.. ugh. I have no motivation for this right now. There are other plots I want to map out and explore more. Hopefully one of those will stick and take form soon. Sorry for any inconveniences</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for all the ridiculous chemistry in the beginning...  
> I hate chemistry. Sorry if I got stuff wrong, I'm honestly surprised I passed with a B last semester.  
> Anywho. This is basically introduction chapter. Kinda slow, sorry. Chapter 2 will hopefully get the pace moving more, but we'll see...  
> Enjoy!!
> 
> Also, I know Rivaille is wrong, but in the story I'm keeping Mikasa's last name as Ackerman and it would be weird if that was also Levi's last name so just go with it ;)
> 
> **oh shit what the pov changed to first person wow*  
> yeah its easier to write that way so I change my mind because no way in hell can I write any more chapters in 3rd  
> I'll cry

The worst part of the day: chemistry. I sat, one knee bouncing, pen poised over my paper, trying to look interested. It didn’t work. No matter how enthusiastic the professor, I just couldn’t understand chemistry.

“See how there are these groups surrounding the uranium? They protect it, but they are really important in making the nitride bond, okay?” Professor Hanji held up the model structure of uranium she was holding, practically shaking with excitement. Some scientists overseas had just formed a uranium nitride bond after a few years of trying and I guess she felt it was important enough to stray from the syllabus to talk about it.

“But, look,” she flipped the molecule over. “We have an opening through the groups, leading directly to the uranium molecule, giving us an opening to introduce a group and stop any reactions.” Hanji grabbed another ball and stick model off the table. “This is sodium azide. Now, look. If we eject two electrons from our uranium and break this bond here, we get N2, which is a gas that we can throw away, we don’t need that anymore.” She threw the piece over her shoulder. “What we really want is this. This sodium and nitrogen. We have a negative charge on this nitrogen here and now we bond that to our positively charged uranium, okay?”

Wait, what? Now electrons were being thrown around and the atoms are charged? Okay, whatever. Not like I would remember any of it tomorrow. Now if this was biology, I could rock that. But once elements, bonding and stoichiometry were thrown around, I lost it. At least this was my last semester.

“Now the sodium has two twelve crown four ethers in discrete pairs in a crystal lattice.”

What? Where did the ether come from? I must’ve missed something because you don’t just randomly create ether from sodium and uranium and some other stuff. Well, at least I knew that much about chemistry.

“Any questions?” It seemed the lecture was over and I had missed half of it, as usual. Professor Hanji stood there, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “None? Wonderful. See you all in lab tomorrow. Don’t forget we’re working with nitric acid!” She clapped her hands in excitement.

I shoved his notebook into my bag, glad to be done for the day. I took my time walking back to Maria Hall, enjoying the breeze and the sun that was still hours away from setting. I took a deep breath, letting it out on a hum of contentment. The air smelled faintly of freshly mowed grass. A flock of birds squawked overheard. I stood still, entranced, watching them fly. Their powerful wings occasionally flapped before catching the wind again and gliding gracefully away toward to sun.

“Oi, Eren!” Someone shouted. I used my hand as a visor to block the sun and saw Armin come running up from the courtyard. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”

I shrugged. “Just got out of chem.”

“Good, so you can come play with us.” In the distance I saw “us” Armin was referring to. Jean, Marco, Reiner and Bertolt were throwing a Frisbee back and forth. “If you come, it’ll be even teams.”

“I wish, but I have to be at the studio in a couple hours with Mikasa and I wanna try and study a bit before then because I paid no attention at all in lecture.”

Armin sighed. “Oh yeah, I forgot it was Tuesday, kun tao night. They are going to kick my ass without you here to help me.” He looked off at their friends. “Well, have fun tonight. Kick ass.”

“You too,” I smiled. Armin was the artsy one of the group, but he never let it stop him from playing with the guys, even though he normally wound up with some sort of injury afterward.

Finally back in my dorm, I settled down to study. 

After what felt like reading the same paragraph about geometric and optical isomers over and over again for an hour and a half, I had decided enough was enough and it was time to fetch Mikasa and get ready for martial arts. I changed, put on some fresh deodorant, grabbed my bag and headed out to my sister’s dorm.

I knocked on the oak door of Rose Hall, “Hey! Mikasa! Are you ready to go?” She was probably so wrapped up in studying again that she didn’t even realize what time it was.

It was Annie, her roommate, who opened the door. Her blonde hair was up in a typical bun and she seemed to be in her pajamas, if her fuzzy, purple slippers were anything to go by. “Hey, Eren,” she greeted. “Come on in.” Stepping back from the doorway Annie retreated onto her bed, picking up her book before getting comfortable.

Mikasa’s head was bent studiously over some papers, pen flying at an unnatural speed. Three textbooks were open, all of them with highlighted phrases and notes scribbled in the margin. She was probably trying to read all of them at once. Her hair kept falling in her eyes and she kept swiping it back behind her ears to no avail. The world could have ended and she wouldn’t have batted an eyelash, she was so engrossed.

“Earth to Mikasa,” I said walking over to her. I put a hand gently over her pencil. “You’re going to work yourself to death.” Mikasa was studying law and criminal justice, so her work load was very intense.

She blinked up at me, recognition slowly dawning in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Eren,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “There’s just so many cases to memorize and I have an exam in two days.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re going to do just fine. Take a break. You have to come to the studio now anyway. It’s time for class.”

Mikasa looked at the clock, eyes widening at the time. “Oh, shit, I’m not even dressed!” I laughed. Mikasa was funny when she was stressed out for exams. She always thought she was going to fail and she always got an A. I always told her she didn’t need to worry, she had the smart genes, to which she would laugh, punch me in the arm and remind me that she was adopted. 

“No time,” I said. “Just grab your gi and get dressed there. I’ll drive tonight or we’ll never make it on time.”

With a shove, she scraped her chair back from the desk and stretched. Grabbing her clothes from her dresser, she stuffed them in her bag, along with a water bottle. Mikasa slipped her shoes on and headed out the door. “Annie, I’ll be back later. Can you leave the room unlocked?”

Annie nodded, too engrossed in her book to make a proper response.

Their studio was only one town over, and my driving was manic. Not only did we make it there on time, we were early.

We bowed when we walked through the door. Grandmaster Erwin Smith was sitting at his desk, riffling through some papers, as usual. 

“Good evening, sir,” Mikasa said, shaking his hand in greeting, before rushing down the hall to the changing rooms.

“How are you tonight, sir?” I asked, also shaking his hand in greeting. 

Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, okay. Just trying to figure some stuff out with the funding and everything.” He looked at me. “You and Mikasa are competing at the World Open this year, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, because I had already put your cost into my calculations and would be really peeved if I had to redo all my math!” He stood up and smacked my shoulder. “Guess I should get dress, too.” He looked down at the shorts and t-shirt he was wearing with a grimace. He turned to walk away, before remembering, “Oh, Eren. A black belt from one of our sister school’s is going to be joining us. He should be here soon. Just tell him to wait for me at my desk if I’m not out of the changing room when he arrives okay?”

“Of course, sir,” I said. “What’s his name?”

“Levi Rivaille.” And with that, Erwin went to get dressed.

The blood drained from my face. Holy shit. Levi Rivaille. As in world champion Levi Rivaille? He was coming here? Where the hell was Mikasa? I needed to tell her. Levi was my biggest inspiration. Last year at the World Open, I had missed my opportunity to meet him, but swore that next year I would find him and introduce myself. Guess that would be happening sooner rather than later. Why the hell was Mikasa taking so long to change? 

I huffed, nervously letting out air through clenched teeth. I really needed to calm down. I closed his eyes and tried to focus my erratic energy. It seemed to be working until the door clicked.

“Hello?” A low voice said.

My heart rate jumped, eyes snapping open to see who had entered the studio. It took every thing I had to hold in a snort. Who was this short guy? It couldn’t be Levi. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, you can.” The short man walked across the room, stopping barely a foot in front of me. The air felt charged somehow, the foot between them cackling with energy. “I’m looking for Erwin Smith. My name is Levi Rivaille.”

Oh, crap. This short man was his inspiration? This is the man that I had looked up to and had heard about and researched? The man who held seven world titles?

Levi cleared his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I looked down at Levi. Bad decision. His eyes flashed silver. His brows were drawn in, and his lips curled slightly down at the end. Confusion and maybe slight disappointment had probably shown on my face when he had introduced himself. 

“Y-yes, sir, of course,” I stammered out. “Mr. Smith said he would be out of the back soon. In the meantime, you could sit and wait for him at his desk.”I gestured in the general direction.

Levi headed in that direction without saying another word, giving me some space to let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. I was able to relax a little now that I was out from under intimidating gaze of Levi. My eyes couldn’t help but follow Levi to the desk. Every step was so powerful, fluid, purposeful. His skill as a fighter was obvious, regardless of his stature.

“Hey,” Mikasa spoke behind me. She tactfully dropped her voice before asking, “Who’s the little guy with the weird undercut thing by Mr. Smith’s desk?”

I nearly choked. Now she was here. “That’s Levi Rivaille. And do not let him know that you think he’s short because he will shoot daggers at you. I feel like all the oxygen just got sucked out of my lugs.” I turned around to look at her. “What the hell took you so long? I could’ve used you for backup.”

“Sorry,” she shrugged. “Mom texted me asking about how things were going, so I just sent her a little check up.”

“I hope you told her I said hi.”

“Of course I did, momma’s boy,” Mikasa pinched my cheeked. I slapped her hand away, smiling at her teasing words.

My hand massaged my cheek. “You’re a rotten sister, you know that?”

She just smiled sweetly and walked toward the door to greet the arriving students.

Erwin had emerged during their little bickering and had been talking to Levi. Their heads were conspiratorially bent over, voices muted. I peaked at the clock. Seven o’clock on the dot. “Line up!” I shouted. 

The students hurried into position, waiting patiently for Erwin to be done with Levi before bowing in.

Erwin walked over, Levi in tow. “Good evening, class. I’d like to introduce you to Levi Rivaille.” Levi bowed respectfully. Even though Erwin towered over Levi, he was able to command his space, unwilling drawing my eyes to him. “Master Rivaille, as some of you may know, is a seven time world title holder and competing at this year’s World Open. He trained in one of our sister schools under Grandmaster Keith Shadis, and he will now be joining our school.” Erwin looked over the crowd. “Tonight he will just watch how we do things here, but listen to any comments he has to say. He has some different training than you and insight from a fresh perspective should always be welcome. Alright, bow here,” Erwin bowed. “Bow to your black belts,” Erwin gestured to the line that now included not only myself and Mikasa, but Levi Rivaille, as well.

I woke up late the next morning, and groaned in pain. My body hurt in places I didn’t know were possible. Levi had done way less watching and more teaching than expected last night, and his teaching hurt even worse than Erwin’s. Something else I hadn’t known was possible. Stretching my tight muscles out, I mentally prepared to leave bed and get ready for the day. To my left I could see that Armin was already out, the bed empty and made. The early bird was probably getting a coffee before going to class.

With an apple in one hand and my book bag in the other, I headed out the door. I slide into my seat just as Professor Ral walked in. “Good morning, class!” she chirped before opening their book. I didn’t even know what page they were on anymore, I had read the whole thing already. Ral mentioned something about the satirical themes in Gulliver’s Travels, but I couldn’t focus, my mind drifted to my bruises, and then to Levi, who had put them there.

During class Levi has been very compelling, commanding, and informative. The students followed without any hesitation. And Erwin was right when a fresh perspective was good to have, especially for grappling, which was what they worked on last night.

Grappling isn’t a big event in kun tao, but they still train in it occasionally. Because Levi has been training in the world circuit for years he knows a lot more tricks and techniques to use against your opponent. He helped a lot of the students on shrimping out, mount and guard tricks, as well as this really tricky arm bar. He had even come over to help me with a figure four I had been practicing on Mikasa. I remembered all too clearly those long fingers pointing to the correct spots to grasp, how they trailed over the back of my hand before coming down over my knuckles to correct my grip. 

I remembered making eye contact with those silver eyes as Levi instructed me on what to do. For some reason it had made me blush. Probably because I was a second degree black belt and embarrassed because I should be able to do this hold by now.

I had been hoping Levi would join the fighting, but no such luck. Maybe next class… I licked my lips. I would give anything to be able to go head to head with Levi, test our mettle, and see who comes out on top.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally gets to grapple with Levi. Afterwards, they end up spending time together and he tells Levi things maybe he shouldn't. Why, he doesn't know. Maybe a bond is beginning to form?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, sooo, very ereri-centric here, sorry.  
> I plan on doing some more development with other characters in the next chapter or two.  
> sorry if the ending it weird/rushed/crap.. I'm still not very good at ending things yet ughhh.  
> anyway, enjoy!

I couldn’t wait to get to the studio Thursday night. I could barely focus on my homework, so I finally just packed up my school books and headed out, anticipation making me arrive extra early. I bowed when I entered, paying my respects, and scanned the room for Levi. He was sitting next to Erwin, shuffling through some papers. I saw that he had our gi on. The short sleeves showed off his lean, muscular arms, and the pants hung low on his waist. The cut really flattered him. Maybe tonight he would join in with the class. I swallowed hard, trying to force my nerves down a dry throat. What the hell was wrong with me?

I cleared my throat, reaching out to shake Grandmaster Erwin’s hand first. “Hello, sir,” I said. He grunted in reply, not talking his eyes off the paper. I reached out to Levi, who almost crushed my hand when he shook it. It took everything I had to stand there and take the pain instead of pulling back. His eyes searched my own, but I would not let him see how much that really hurt. When he was satisfied with my reaction, he let go and said, “Hello, Eren. Where is your sister tonight?”

“She’ll be along shortly, sir. She had some things she needed to finish on a paper.”

“I see.” With that he turned away to finish up his paper work.

Because I was so early and no one would be arriving for at least twenty minutes, I decided to get in a little warm up first. Against my will, I found myself peeking at Levi. He must’ve felt my stare because the next time I looked up at him, he was staring straight back at me with his permanent glare. I felt a blush run up my neck and bloom in my cheeks. Thankfully, Mikasa chose this as the time to arrive with some other students.

We continued with our grappling lessons that night.

“Can we do open grappling?” One of the students asked.

“Yeah, please, sir!”

“That would be so cool,” they chimed in, wanting to test their skills against one another.

Levi held up his hands. “Alright, alright. No striking though. Only pressure points, okay?”

Tom and Franz were up first. “Get on your knees in front of each other,” Levi instructed. “Place one hand over your opponent’s arm, and the other underneath. That way you can both begin equally. You go until one of you taps out or I call off the match, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” they said.

“And, begin!”

Their muscles bulged as they pressed against each other, locked in place. Eventually, Franz was able to pull Tom’s arm down, brining him to the mat and attempting a mount. Tom dug his elbows in the tops of Franz’s thighs, keeping his from achieving a full mount. After about five minutes, Tom was able to secure one of Franz’s hands and swing around into an arm bar, winning the match.

“Nice move,” Franz said, slapping Tom on the back. “I thought I was going to be able to counter that, but you’re too fast!”

“Who’s up next?” Levi asked.

A few more students went. Even Mikasa took on one of the more advanced belts we had. She won against Hannah easily. They walked off the mat, smiling and congratulating the other. Mikasa was giving her some good points on how to conserve your energy when Levi spoke again. “And for our last match of the night,” he scanned the room, “who would like to grapple me?”

A murmur of apprehension went through the students. A few brave souls half-heartedly put a hand up, probably hoping to look good, but also secretly hoping they wouldn’t get picked.

I knew this was my chance. I stepped forward. “I would gladly, sir.”

Levi cocked his head to one side, a smirk on his face. “Yaeger. Please.” He gestured to the middle of the mat.

Anxiety suddenly overcame me. I gulped nervously but kneeled down, watching him walk slowly toward me. The mat crinkled slightly as he kneeled down in front of me. His head came up to just underneath my shoulder. Why was I so nervous when I could see over his head? I was most likely stronger than he is, the match should go by quickly. 

We gripped each other’s arms in preparation. Bands of muscles flexed underneath my hands when I made contact, and I quickly retracted my last thought. Maybe he was stronger than I thought.

“Ready?” Mikasa spoke from off the mat, her eyes warily watching us. We both nodded. “Begin!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I was knocked flat on my back. A strangled “oof” released all the air in my lungs as my eyes widen in surprise. Levi was already in a full mount on top. I ignored the breathless discomfort in my chest, frantically pinching, elbowing, twisting to weaken his legs so I could shift out from underneath, but to no avail. His thighs were like steel, weighing down my lower body. I was pinned between him and the mat.

He reached down to smother my face and dig into some pressure points, hopefully making me tap out. I knew this would be my only chance for escape. I knocked his arm to my chest, folded my arms over his, pinning them down. Levi’s eyes widen an infinitesimally small amount in surprise. He tried to pull his hand out, grunting, but I wouldn’t let go. I took advantage of his momentary annoyance and grabbed around his head to bring him to my chest. I held him there, panting from exertion. He kept fighting me, pinching and pressing into my joints to try and loosen my hold. With difficulty I was able to get one of my legs wrapped around his and using a push-pull motion on the arm and leg I had secured, buck him over. 

Our hands scrambled over each other’s faces, gouging, and pushing, and smothering, trying to confuse the other one. Levi wiggled one knee out, pushing me back to create some space to breathe. I attacked, wasting no time, but he was ready, already regaining his composure after creating those few extra inches of space between us. He must have anticipated that I would take the bait and come into him, because Levi was ready. With one foot in my chest and a hand secured around my ankle Levi flung me down onto my back again. The foot on my chest that had pushed me over continued in a downward arch, slamming its heel on the top of my thigh. My quad spasmed, tightening up from the force of the strike. Levi still had my foot in his hand, poised for an ankle lock. Slowly, he applied the pressure, forcing my ankle to an excruciatingly painful angle. I used my free leg to kick out at his face, thankful that I was taller and had the extension necessary to get him off.

Once his grip slackened on my foot, I tried to move back and give myself time to recover, but my leg hindered my movements. Levi approached me, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Somehow I managed to keep control of him, securing him in another guard. It didn’t last long. He dug his elbows into the soft skin of my inner thighs, then switched and pushed his knuckles down into a spot just below my belly button to make my legs relax their grip enough for him to swing one of his out. He immediately scrambled over me, keeping his chest tight to mine, covering my face with his hand so I couldn’t see what he was doing.

Blinded and in pain, Levi was able to squirm his way into a full mount and drive his knees in my armpits, clenching tightly so I couldn’t move. My arms were stuck up and out at an awkward angle in an embarrassing position of defeat. Levi looked down at me, a sick, satisfied grin played on his face and his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do you concede?”

Annoyance, and the throbbing in my leg, made me grind my teeth. I had to wiggle my jaw around and loosen it before replying. “Yes,” I hissed out. 

Levi lightly leap off me, kindly reaching a hand down to help me up. Of course I accepted. As angry as I was at my defeat, he was my instructor and deserved my respect for giving me that ass kicking that I’ve only experienced from Erwin and Mikasa. I slid my hand into his, only to feel a strange electric pulse tingle my palm. I wondered what that was all about as I bowed, thanking him for the grappling session.

Erwin called for the class to line up. “Class,” he began. “The World Open is fast approaching. I want you all to know that Mr. Rivialle, Ms. Ackerman, and Mr. Yaeger will be attending with me this year. Know that this is on the horizon and keep your training up. We’ll probably start doing some conditioning for breaking soon. That’s all for tonight.” We bowed out.

Mikasa came up to me after. “That was some fight!” She looked blissful. “I wish I could’ve been in there. He was in total control the whole time, you know. Levi played you. He knew you were getting hotheaded when he first dumped you, so he used it and fueled it and you fell into all of his traps. How did you not see that?” She slapped his arm. “We need to work on your fighting temper. You should know that fighting angry doesn’t always work, Eren.”

“Back off, Mikasa,” I gritted out. I was still peeved I had lost. I really thought I might’ve had him at one point. I didn’t need her telling me all my mistakes.

She leaned back on her heels, palms outward. “Whoa, there. Just thought I’d let you know that we now have something to work on to make you a better fight. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she grabbed her bag, realizing how wounded my ego was and giving me the time to cool down.

I gathered myself and went to shake instructor’s hands goodbye. Erwin complimented me on my grappling, giving me a tip to not be so emotionally based when I fight. “It wastes your energy faster, you don’t have any time to think or react, and the other person gets the upper hand. With grappling, yes you still want to seek and destroy, but you need to bide you time. Control yourself, wait for your moment to strike. You tried to make those moments, sometimes that doesn’t always work.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.” I finished saying my goodbyes and went off to find Levi. If you leave the studio without at least attempting a proper goodbye to your higher ranks, you can expect hell. I didn’t want to know what would happen if I didn’t attempt a goodbye with Levi.

I shouted down hall that lead to the dressing rooms and bathroom. “Mr. Rivaille?”

One of the dressing room doors opened. My heart skipped a beat at the site before me. Levi was in the middle of changing. His jeans were unbuttoned, revealing a sliver of black boxers. He had no shirt on, revealing all those upper body muscles in perfect definition that I had become so acquainted with by feeling earlier on the mat. “Uh,” I stuttered. I assumed I should still shake his hand goodbye, as was expected, so I rushed over, hand outreached.

“Goodnight,” I bowed, grasping his hand. The tingling sensation ignited in my palm again. I wondered if he felt it too, and peeked at his eyes through the layers of my hair. They didn’t reveal anything that I could see, but I thought I saw a corner of his mouth turned down in concentration, or maybe disgust.

He drew back, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe. “You need to learn to block out pain, Eren. You are mentally able to handle more than your physical body thinks you can. Once you learn that, you will be a better fighter.”

Another lecture, great. “Yes, sir.” As much as I tried I couldn’t help the little bit of attitude that slipped into my voice.

Levi’s eyes drew into slits at my attitude. “If you didn’t focus on the pain, you might’ve had me.” He confessed, turning back into the dressing room. The lock clicking signaled he was done with me for the night.

I laid awake in bed that night, watching the hours go slowly by on my alarm clock. The fight was on my mind. I heaved out a deep sigh. Every one was right, of course, in their remarks. I didn’t want to admit it, but my grappling technique needed work and I needed to control my pain tolerance better. I huffed, rolled over and yanked the covers over my eyes. The red light of my clock continued to flash the minutes away. Thank God tomorrow was Friday.

The next morning, I made sure to go apologize to Mikasa. I took a seat on her bed, trying not to rustle any papers that were out. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being an ass last night.”

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, leaning back in her desk chair. “Oh? And?”

I stared blankly. “Uh, and… You’re the best sister anyone could have?” She waited, playing her favorite game with me. “And I’m going to take you out to breakfast?” I tried, maybe buying her food was the way to forgiveness. Her face lit up and she clapped her hands.

“Just what I wanted to hear! Let me get my shoes.”

Mikasa picked the diner down the road. They served up the best omelets. She ordered two, with a side of fruit and toast. “Got enough to eat there?” I teased. 

She turned her nose up, “I’m a growing woman, shut your trap.” She jabbed her fork violently at me for emphasis. Something must’ve caught her attention from the corner of her eye, because her head snapped to the side. “Wow, is that Levi? He looks good dressed in normal clothes.”

I followed her gaze. Sure enough he was at the counter purchasing what seemed to be a giant sized coffee, enough to caffeinate two of him. “Levi!” She shouted, trying to get his attention. He followed the voice, finally noticing us over in the corner. 

“Mikasa!” I hissed. “What are you doing?” Please don’t tell me she had a crush on him.

“Trying to get him to come sit with us, obviously,” Mikasa beckoned him over. 

“Good morning,” he greeted. 

“Morning, sir,” Mikasa said. “Care to join us? That is, if you’re in no rush.” She smiled sweetly, making me grimace.

“Thank you, I actually wouldn’t mind at all.” Levi slid in next to her. “No classes today?” 

School was the main topic of conversation for awhile, as we all tried to break the ice between student and teacher. 

“I wanna do law. Criminal justice type stuff.” Mikasa offered when Levi asked what her major was. “I hate people who think they can just get away with doing whatever they please, hurt whoever, with no repercussions.” She gripped her coffee cup tightly. I thought it was going to break, her knuckles were so white, gripping the thing like it was the only thing keeping her rooted here. Levi was watching her closely, a questioning look in his eyes. Quickly, I tried to divert his attention.

“I’m studying biology. But it feels like I’m studying chemistry because that’s where all my studying time goes. Ask Mikasa, all I ever do is complain.” I reached out to touch her arm briefly, letting her know it was okay to relax. “I struggle to get a C,” I admitted.

“Tch,” Levi said. His attention fully shifted on me. Mikasa visibly relaxed now that she didn’t have to answer any more questions. “Are you dumb, or something?” He joked.

“Of course not!” I almost shouted. “It just doesn’t make sense,” I admitted bitterly. “Too much to remember with no time to grasp the concepts. It’s a difficult subject.”

Just then Mikasa’s phone rang. “Sorry, guys, just excuse me for a minute” she said before picking it up. “Hello? Armin? Oh, yeah, I’m so sorry, it slipped my mind actually. I’m out to breakfast with Eren and a friend.” She paused. “Uh-huh. I can meet you there. Ten minutes? Okay.” She got off the phone and looked up at us with an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry for ditching you guys, but I need to get going. I forgot I had promised to help out Armin as a subject for one of his art projects.” She gathered up her stuff. “Oh, shit. I forgot I drove. Eren, can you walk back to campus or something?”

I was about to assure her it wouldn’t be a problem, go help Armin worry-free, when Levi interjected, “Don’t worry. I’ll get him back safe.” My mouth fell open in shock.

“Thank you so much,” Mikasa smiled brightly in gratitude, rushing out of the booth toward the exit.

“Have fun with Armin,” I called after her before turning back to Levi. It felt strange being alone with him. I wouldn’t call it a bad thing, just unusual. 

Levi drowned back the last of his coffee. I focused on the graceful curve of his neck, watching the muscle work as he swallowed. “Alright, let’s head off, kid.” I jumped, guilt licking at me. He probably saw me staring again. “Where’s your dorm?” Levi asked, sliding adroitly into the driver’s seat.

“Once you get to the campus, take a right where the gas station is and go up the hill to the top. Then go left. It’s right up there.”

The ride was quiet, just soft music playing in the background. I gathered up some courage and asked, “What do you do for work?” 

“I’m a nurse, actually,” Levi said.

“Oh,” I said, a bit taken aback. I would have never expected someone so stoic and forceful to have such a gentle, helpful job.

He looked over at me. “I like to help people. Especially when I can take their pain away, or make them smile in an otherwise shitty situation.” He shrugged. “Every life is precious.”

I chuckled. “You sound like Mikasa. Just less angry.”

“Oh, yes,” he said, remembering. “What was that reaction about earlier?”

Oh, shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about Mikasa, but I was in too deep now, and he deserved to know. “Her parents were killed when she was a kid,” I admitted. “A few angry, drunk, wanna-be burglars came into her house. Her parents hid her in the closet, but they didn’t have any time to react. They were both killed and she had to call the police and sit with their corpses until help showed up. She was in the ER, being examined for psychological issues, when my dad saw her and heard why she was in there. He’s a doctor, you know.” I clarified why my dad would be in the ER. “Anyway, we adopted her.” I looked at Levi, trying to gauge his reaction. Nothing much had changed, except that his normal glare seemed a bit more pinched around the eyes and mouth. “That’s actually one of the reasons she started martial arts. She didn’t want to ever be weak and helpless again. It’s also why she’s studying law, so she can prosecute sick bastards that do things like this all the time.”

The car stopped. I hadn’t realized we were already back at the dorms.

“Thank you for telling me,” Levi said. “I know I should have asked her, but I didn’t feel like she trusted me enough and I knew something was going on. I really do appreciate it. It can help me approach her training differently, if she ever wants to work on some specific holds or situations.”

I panicked at that. “Please do not let on that I told you,” I begged.

Levi actually smiled at that. “Of course not. Your secret is safe with me. And if she does ever decide to tell me herself,” he shrugged, “I’ll react appropriately.” He leaned across me to open the door. “Have a good day.” 

He was too close in proximity to me, and I scrambled very ungracefully from the car, trying to process all that had happened.


	3. Chapter 3

I breathed in the crisp evening air, stretching my arms high to fill my lungs completely. Ah, Saturday. I finished that stupid lab report and got ahead on my English reading for next week, so I was going out with a bunch of my friends tonight. We all needed the break. 

I left my dorm with Armin to get Mikasa. Annie was already out, she told us and would meet up with us. I was trailing behind Mikasa and Armin who seemed to be unusually close and goofy tonight. They were talking about the art project she helped him with and playfully shoving each other back and forth.

“You were blushing the whole time!” Mikasa accused him.

True to the statement a pink blush blossomed over Armin’s nose and cheeks. “I couldn’t help it,” he mumbled, embarrassed. He seemed nervous and shot a look back at me to see if I was paying attention. I was. His head snapped forward immediately. “Cool it, Mikasa.”

She looked back at me, smiling. “Don’t be nervous, he should probably know before we reach the others,” she reached out and hand and placed in gently on his arm. It was a normal gesture that she’d done many times in the past to comfort him, but tonight it seemed… different somehow.

I stopped walking, cleared my throat, and said, “What should I know?” My mind began jumping to horrible scenarios that Armin was dropping out of school on some crazy adventure or something and Mikasa was going with him, which would be ridiculous.

Mikasa let out a sigh, turning slowly around to face me. Armin moved in closer to her, so they were standing shoulder to shoulder. He nudged her. “For someone who was so brave two seconds ago, you look like you’re gonna pee your pants,” he teased. She scowled. 

“Look at his face!” She gestured to me. “He has his angry eyes on.”

I saw movement behind their backs and a faint smile tugged at Mikasa’s lips. She seemed to steel herself before saying, “Armin and I are dating.” She held up their linked hands from behind her back.

“Oh.” I relaxed.

“Oh? OH?!” Mikasa basically screeched. “We declare something that’s kind of a big deal to you and all you have to say is ‘oh’?!” She started to take a step toward me, balling her fists, before Armin pulled her back.

“What she, well, what we mean to say is, are you mad?” Armin asked. “Or annoyed? We’ve all been best friends for years and I know she’s your sister and it’s normally off limits. So, are you okay with this? With us?”

It would be an adjustment, sure, but there really wasn’t anything to not be okay about, and I told them as much. They were both two people who I really loved already and if they made each other happy, then I was fine with it. “But don’t you dare make me into some pathetic third wheel,” I said. “I honestly thought there was some ridiculous, bad news, but this is good. Much more preferable. Don’t be so delicate next time, just get to the point okay? Save me a heart attack.” I chuckled, slapping Armin on the back. “And hey, don’t you break her heart, okay?”

Armin smiled at Mikasa. “Never.”

She rolled her eyes, uncomfortable with the attention. “Okay, boys, that’s enough. We better get going or every one is going to leave without us.”

We continued walking down the path to the student center, Armin and Mikasa hand in hand. My own wondered what it felt like to hold someone’s hand.

Eventually, the three of us reached the group. They were loud, standing around and playing some weird game when we arrived. Ymir was up a tree and Christa was lying in the grass underneath with Marco, blowing on dandelions. Sasha was eating a sandwich, taking a bite and then holding it out of reach of Connie, who was just a few inches too short to reach it. Reiner, Bertolt, and Jean trying to see who could do a handstand the longest and failing miserably to Annie who was literally walking circles around them. Jean saw us first.

He ran over to us, waving enthusiastically. “About time you guys showed up! I had to convince every one not to leave without you,” he made puppy dog eyes at Mikasa, totally oblivious that her and Armin were holding hands.

“We’re sorry,” she said. “We just got a little held up,” she shrugged, bringing Armin’s hand up with her’s. Immediately Jean’s eyes locked onto it, and his eyes dimmed a little. 

“Oh.” He pretended not to care, but we all knew he had a crush on Mikasa for the longest time. She was never malicious about her rejections, she just didn’t feel that way. Better to let him know now that she was officially off limits than to have him try to flirt with her for the rest of the night and be continually shut down.

Every one else came ambling over. Christa, being so in tune with emotions, knew something was up and tried to diffuse the awkward tension rolling off Jean. “Who’s ready to go bowling?!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. Ymir rolled her eyes at Christa’s over enthusiastic remark but leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“I’ve been ready forever. Let’s go already, now that the slow pokes are here.”

“Yahoo!” Sasha jumped up, tapping her heels together. “I’m gonna kick all your butts tonight!” 

“You wish!” Connie said, giving her a playful shove. 

We walked the few blocks down the bowling alley. No one directly said anything about Armin and Mikasa but every one realized what had happened. I saw Reiner give Armin a punch to the arm and wink. It made my stomach a little queasy knowing what they were thinking about my sister, but I knew Mikasa could handle herself and she wanted Armin, so I let it be. 

We choose to do cosmic bowling. The first game went by quickly, Bertolt coming quietly from behind and taking the lead from Reiner, who made a huge scene about it, before challenging him in the next round. Connie bought a round of beers for every one and I was idly sipping on mine, watching Mikasa bowl. I was uncomfortable thinking about the secret conversation I had with Levi before. She told me about her and Armin, and I told her most private story to someone without her permission. I felt like I had betrayed her trust by telling her secret that even some of our friends didn’t know. The pins were knocked down in a loud clacker. She got a strike. “Yes!” 

When she was walking back, I stood up. It was now or never. “Hey, Mikasa, can I talk to you?” I gestured her over. She sat down across from me. 

“What is it, Eren? You look sick.” Always the voice of concern. I gulped. This might be harder than I thought. “Is it about me and Armin?”

“Oh, no. No!” I was mortified, and felt even worse than before. “I’m okay with that, I told you. So, ah… Okay. Remember when Levi drove me back to campus the other day, when you went off with Armin?” She nodded. “He asked about you because of your weird reaction at the diner. I may have told him about your past... With your parents.”

Mikasa looked away, a blush in her cheeks. “Ah,” was all she said.

“I really needed to tell you, I felt so bad, like I had betrayed you somehow. It’s your story to tell, not mine. It just seemed like he should know, but the more I think about it, the more I think it should have come from you.”

She reached over to grab my hand. “It’s okay, Eren. I’m not mad, so please stop rambling. And thank you for telling me.” She squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Actually, later that day I stopped by the studio to apologize for my rude behavior. I talked to Levi and told him about my parents then, but I guess I didn’t have to. I know you were only doing what you thought was best, Eren, don’t worry about it. Besides, Levi is really cute, I’m sure he could get any information out of anyone without really having to try. You didn’t stand a chance.” With that she walked away, and fell laughing into Armin’s lap, leaving me in a sputtering mess of indignation. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Oi, Eren!” Annie shouted. “You’re up,” she said, walking away from striking down nine out of ten.

Taking a big gulp of my beer I headed over to grab my ball. It felt heavy and slippery. My first toss went straight to the gutter. Collective “oooooo’s” sounded behind me. “Get it together, man. That was weak!” Jean barked obnoxiously. 

“Shut up, Jean or I’ll throw this at your head!” I tried to focus by putting Jean’s ugly horse face on the pins instead of thinking about Mikasa’s comment and this time I got four of the pins down. Better than none.

The rest of the second game passed quickly, although I didn’t improve much. Bertolt did manage to beat Reiner again and was making faces at him before Reiner pulled him onto his lap. “Shut up,” he said. And kissed him, thoroughly keeping Bertolt too entertained to boast.

“Hey, Armin,” Connie shouted. “You kiss Mikasa like that yet?” 

“Oh, ew! That’s my sister, you can’t ask that!” I said.

Armin was blushing a bright red. Mikasa just glared. “You shouldn’t say anything, Connie. You’ve only been kissed by your mother. Why don’t you finally ask Sasha out?” All the blood drained from Connie’s face. Sasha choked on the sip of beer she was taking.

“What?” She asked.

“Not cool!” Connie hissed, elbowing Mikasa in the ribs, who just shrugged.

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew, shortie.” Armin pulled Mikasa away before Connie could throw another hit.

Sasha grabbed Connie’s arm and whispered something in his ear, turning his ears pink. They waited for the conversation to turn to other topics before sleuthing off to the back.

“So,” Christa spoke up. “What is it now? Reiner and Bertolt, Ymir and me, Mikasa and Armin, and looks like Connie and Sasha.” We all snickered. “Now all we need to do is find Jean, Annie, Marco, and Eren someone!”

Annie sighed. “No, thanks, I’m good.”

“Not interested in anyone?” Christa winked.

“Actually, no,” Annie admitted a bit uncomfortably.

“Well, then, ladies,” Jean interrupted. “Help me out!”

Christa giggled. “I can be your personal matchmaker, Jean!”

Ymir shuddered. “Ugh, that’s creepy. Who’d wanna date Jean anyway?” That remark received a light whack from Christa. 

“Be nice,” she admonished. “I’m sure we can find someone for him. Maybe that girl from my English class. I’ll see if she’s dating anyone Monday. How about you Marco? Anyone catch your eye?”

Marco, who had been staring and laughing at Jean, looked quickly down. He mumbled a bit, something about yes, there was someone but the person probably didn’t like him back so it didn’t matter anyway.

Reiner tried to comfort him. “I’m sure once she gets to know you, she’ll fall right in love with you, Marco.”

Marco rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Hey, what about Eren? You haven’t bothered him yet.”

Christa snapped to attention. “Yeah, Eren, what about you? Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“There isn’t anyone,” I mumbled, embarrassed. 

Mikasa snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

I snarled. “Shut up about that already, would you?”

Somehow Christa’s eyes got even widen than normal sensing drama. “What is it?” 

“Tell us,” everyone begged.

I shot Mikasa a warning glare, but I guess she wanted to be a pain in the ass big sister tonight. 

“He’s crushing on our instructor,” she said.

“Am not!” I shouted.

“You so are! You were so grabby with him the other night at practice and totally couldn’t get your eyes off him at breakfast.”

Reiner burst out laughing. “Who would’ve thought Yaeger licked dick? Don’t worry, being gay is great.” He held onto Bertolt possessively. 

“I’m straight.”

“Experimenting and questioning is okay, Eren, even if you don’t understand it yet.” Bertolt tried to reassure me, but I was steaming, trying to shoot daggers from my eyes and impale Mikasa as he spoke. I wished she would just let that rest. I guzzled down the rest of my beer, and drank another that was besides it.

“Oi, Eren! That was mine! Gross!” Great. Now I had Jean spit in my mouth.

They decided to play another game. I drank a lot more. I was lucky I threw the ball down the right lane. Dehydration made my mouth fuzzy, but I didn’t care, so I grabbed another beer. In total I think I knocked down twenty pins during the last game.

“I’m going to take Eren back, guys,” Armin said, peering into my glassy eyes. “He looks like he needs a few aspirin and a day of sleep. You’re gonna have a nasty beer hangover, man.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and steered me toward the exit. “I’ll see you later,” he said to Mikasa, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. I groaned at their disgustingly sweet affection. 

Armin got me back to Maria Hall quickly, balancing my weight and catching me when I stumbled. He grabbed two bottled waters from the fridge and aspirin off the dresser. “Drink,” he commanded. I drank the whole first bottle in one breath, the fuzzy feeling in my mouth receding a bit so I could choke down the aspirin. “Will you be okay tonight? I was going to stay out for a little bit longer.”

“With Mikasha, right?” I slurred a bit.

“Yes,” he chuckled nervously. “With Mikasa.” Armin looked out the window. “It feels weird saying that. You knew I always had a crush on her as children, but I never would’ve thought after all the years we would ever get together. It’s surreal.”

I held up my hands to pause him. “Look, Armin. I’m happy for you both, and I’ll shupport you because I love you both. But I don’t need the details about anything, okay? I just need to sleep right now. That’s all I can even begin to think about.” I laid back heavily onto my pillow.

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Armin teased, before tossing me the other water bottle and leaving.

I had every intention of going straight to sleep, but the second I closed my eyes Levi’s face appeared. I grumbled, smashed a pillow over my face, and tried to block it out with no luck. I could the way his black hair fell into his eyes and how he flicked it back. My fingertips tingled again with that familiar electric feeling as I remembered what the muscles in his arms felt like. I let myself image what it would feel like to trail my fingers down his arms to his hands. Would they be rough with callouses? Or unusually smooth? I tried to imagine my hands inching under his shirt, slowly revealing the abs I knew were under there. I felt myself getting hard. Shit. What was I going to do about this? This wasn’t good. So maybe I was gay, it was starting to look that way, but he was my instructor!

I flipped onto my belly and pushed my hips into the mattress, trying to relieve some of the building tension. I just needed to go to sleep and deal with this tomorrow. When I was sober. 

I eventually fell asleep, blaming the alcohol for these emotions, but I knew deep down it was a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry the update took sooo long, like, wayyy longger than I expected  
> this semester is killing me, so yeah, idk when the next chapter will be up either
> 
> but I do have a little Armin/Mikasa aside about what when down during that art project that I'm gonna write  
> so look forward to that ;)


End file.
